Semi-truck access is a must for us, though as a caveat I must say that we
have very large collection pieces, such as automobiles, aircraft, busses,
machine tools, as well as smaller pieces.

Our museum has no loading dock, which has made it tough for us to bring in
traveling exhibits or even supplies for our own exhibits.  For the section
of our building that houses our auto collection, we do have a ramp into the
museum's freight elevator, so cars can go on either of two floors, but we
would love to have a standard high loading dock.

In terms of our storage, we were quite fortunate when we purchased our
current warehouse some years ago, as it had been a light industrial
building, with several high loading docks, as well as several large doors.
So we are able to move things in and out of storage with semi trucks, either
up to the loading dock and rolling stuff off into the warehouse, or by
literally backing a truck into the building and offloading it with a
warehouse.

Our previous warehouse (which we rented) did not have any such access, and
it was EXTREMELY difficult moving objects in and out.  When we finally moved
to the new warehouse, moving out of the old one was a nightmare, but moving
in to the new one was effortless.  And it continues to be.  If only it were
so easy in our museum.

Trust me, you'll never regret having semitruck access to your facility,
especially if you get a loading dock.  You WILL regret if you don't,
especially if you ever plan on traveling exhibits, or any sort of materials
moving in or out of the facility.


--
Christopher J. Dawson
Curator of Urban and Industrial History
Crawford Museum of Transportation and Industry Design Task Force
Western Reserve Historical Society
10825 East Boulevard
Cleveland, Ohio 44106
216-721-5722 x247
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